Curiosity Blog: Sols 4491-4492: Classic Field Geology Pose
Dr. Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center, shares the adventure of exploring Mars via NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission in this blog. Dr. Edgar discusses work they are doing on Mars, allowing the public to witness the rover's journey up close, and by also sharing with our News page, fostering a sense of community and shared ownership in space exploration.
Earth planning date: Monday, March 24, 2025
If you’ve ever seen a geologist in the field, you may have seen a classic stance: one leg propped up on a rock, knee bent, head down looking at the rocks at their feet, and arm pointing to the distant stratigraphy. Today Curiosity decided to give us her best field geologist impression. The weekend drive went well and the rover traversed about 23 meters (about 75 feet), but ended with the right front wheel perched on an angular block. In the Front Hazcam image above, you can see the right front wheel on a small block, and the rover’s shadow with the mast staring out at all the exciting rocks to explore. Great pose, but not what we want for planning contact science! We like to have all six wheels on the ground for stability before deploying the robotic arm. So instead of planning contact science today, the team pivoted to a lot of remote sensing observations and another drive to climb higher in this canyon.
I was on shift as Long Term Planner today, and it was fun to see the team quickly adapt to the change in plans. Today’s two-sol plan includes targeted remote sensing and a drive on the first sol, followed by an untargeted science block on the second sol.
On Sol 4491, ChemCam will acquire a LIBS observation of a well-laminated block in our workspace named “Big Narrows,” followed by long-distance RMI observations coordinated with Mastcam to assess an interesting debris field at “Torote Bowl.” The team planned a large Mastcam mosaic to characterize the stratigraphy at Texoli butte from a different viewing geometry than we have previously captured. Mastcam will also be used to investigate active surface processes in the sandy troughs nearby, and an interesting fracture pattern at “Bronson Cave.” Then Curiosity will drive further to the south and take post-drive imaging to prepare for the next plan. On the second sol the team added an autonomously selected ChemCam AEGIS target, along with Navcam movies to monitor clouds, wind direction, and dust.
Keep on roving Curiosity, and please watch your step!
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